Veronese’s Wedding at Cana painted in 1563

For many years this painting has been recognized by musicians as an important work for the study of 16th-century Venetian instruments and their playing technique. In the foreground there is a group of five musicians playing two tenor viols, a violin, a cornett, and a violone; to the left of the group, with their instruments mainly hidden, are a cherubic sackbut player and turbaned trumpet player

Depicting a biblical tale of Christ turning water into wine at a wedding,thelarge-scale painting imagines the scene in sixteenth century Venice.

In this painting, Jesus is not interacting with the other guests like you would expect based on the biblical story, but he looks straight at the viewer. Jesus is sitting in the middle of the table instead of the bride and groom.

In the lower half of the composition, finely dressed guests chat, gesture, and eat at a banquet table attended by servers, entertainers, and musicians, while the miraculous wine is served at the far left and examined at the far right. Elevated on a second level, busily working servers, carvers, and cooks attend to the food and dishes for the meal.

Above them, a cloudy blue sky is flanked with classicizing columns and architecture, with several spectators peering down at the activity below. The rich and varied colors and attention to the detail of costly goods clothing, instruments, and serving vessels—give the work a distinctly sumptuous execution.

Veronese’s Wedding at Cana painted in 1563